No longer a proud Buckeye. Ohio State president using dog whistle to muzzle free speech

Letters to the editor
Updated ·2 min read
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I am not proud to be a Buckeye

After Columbia, Yale and, recently, Harvard’s stand against pro-Palestinian protesters camping on campus grounds and University of Southern California's racist stand to rescind the well-earned valedictorian address by Asna Tabassum, comes Ohio State University president’s threat and warning to the would-be protesters in his backyard.

Like the administrators of USC and Ivy League colleges, he, too, is using the dog whistle of ‘campus safety and security’ concern.

Do these protesters usually come armed, intent on vandalizing the school property, hurting and harming university personnel or campus police?

OU 'pauses' diversity scholarships. It's a slap in the face to Black students, alumni like me.

They only wish to highlight the plight of people in Gaza. Thanks to the total complicity of the Biden administration in Israel’s war with Hamas, so far more than 34,000 people have been killed, two-thirds of whom are children and women.

Nov 16, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; A protestor holds a Palestinian flag on the front steps of The Ohio State University Longaberger Alumni House after they are made to leave the meeting. A demonstration was planned for protestors to speak during a meeting of the OSU Trustees calling for them to divest OSU funding from companies who have ties with Israeli fossil fuel companies operating in Palestine.

Through its president’s letter, OSU has chosen to join other schools trying to muzzle the voices on the campus against the genocide in Gaza. It mirrors the attitude of mainstream American media, which have chosen to shun pro-Palestinian guests but have no qualms in welcoming pro-Israelis who shamelessly drum the justification of carnage in Gaza.

I was proud to be part of OSU (1991-1994) and that two of my three children are Ohio State alums.

Not anymore.

OSU "Will not compromise.' Ohio State president on safety as campuses face Gaza war protests

Shame on OSU and its president for taking anti-student and anti-free speech stand behind pathetic and flimsy garb of safety and security. This is the antithesis of an educational entity in a free world.

Abdul-Majeed Azad, Columbus

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OSU president standing against Palestinians, muzzling free speech